In March 1996, amid fierce fighting between the GIA (Armed Islamic Group) and the Algerian state, news came that seven French monks, based at a monastery in Tibhirine, a hundred miles south of Algiers in the Atlas range, had been taken hostage. Six weeks later their murdered bodies were found. Over ten thousand Algerians and scores of westerners - including many members of religious orders - died in this civil war.
As the tenth anniversary of this massacre draws near, the film explores the monks’ decision to stay in Tibhirine. Challenged by members of the GIA on Christmas Eve 1993 and shaken by this first violent encounter, the religious community discussed at length whether to stay or leave. After much soul-searching, the monks unanimously decided to remain in Tibhirine, in solidarity with their Algerian neighbours…for whom leaving was not an option.
Their decision put them firmly in the camp of the Algerian people and the daily struggle against violence. Their hope was that non-violence would prevail – as it had on December 24th 1993.Families and friends tell of the monks’ deep commitment to the villagers, to Algeria and to Islam. Back in late fifties, some of the monks were conscripted into the French army and sent to Algeria to fight. That experience was to leave its mark and explains why some eventually settled in Algeria. In Tibhirine, the monks sought to turn a new leaf by working hand-in-hand with the Algerian people, forging links and involving them as partners in a joint market-garden venture.
Some in the religious community had studied the Islamic faith and had great respect for its teachings, to the extent that one room in the monastery was used as a mosque.
The monks saw the first Gulf War as ‘a catastrophic blunder’. They realised that it would pit developed countries against developing ones and deepen the already existing rift between East and West.
The film will comprise of interviews from the monks’ relatives and friends as well as extracts from the diary of the youngest one, Christophe, who writes of daily life with the villagers in a climate of increasing violence, repeated massacres…The diary records the grim count-down. In 1995, after the discovery of the monks’ bodies, wide press coverage was given to the will of Christian, the monastery’s Prior. Written soon after the encounter of December 24th 1993, the document is a farewell message of trust and love to the Algerian people. The Prior also reflects on the risk of assassination and grants his murderers his forgiveness. His last words are “Amen, inch’Allah”.
Today the monastery is empty. Although no one lives there, the place is well looked-after. Still and tracking shots of the monastery, its shadows and gleaming walls catching the light will create a silent backdrop which will allow the monks’ story to resonate.